The wrath of the Chinese continues as yet another brand Tecno enters India with plans to begin local manufacturing, research and development and potentially export phones to markets like Middle East and Africa where it has an over 30% market share.

Transsion Holdings will launch four smartphones – i3, i3 Pro, i5 and i5 Pro – under its second brand Tecno in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market tomorrow, nearly a year after its first brand Itel entered India and took the No 2 spot in the overall mobile phone market.

Tecno will set up a separate team of operational and marketing executives while it launches the India-specific smartphones in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat in the first phase. The devices priced between Rs 7,990 and Rs 14,990 will be launched in about 10,000 brick-and-mortar stores in these states, through 129 local distributors.

“India is our No 1 priority market across the group and across all 58 countries that we operate in, including Middle East and Africa,” said Arif Chowdhury, vice president of Transsion Holdings. The group has already started surveying the market for launching its third brand Infinix, which will be exclusively online.

“We will set up our own manufacturing unit in India for which we’re talking to different states, we’re also evaluating exports from here over time,” he said, while adding that the company is also exploring setting up a local R&D centre.When asked whether the company’s plans would be contingent on the goods and services tax (GST) regime being rolled out by the government in July, given that several handset brands are awaiting clarity on this before they invest further, Chowdhury said that they weren’t.

“Our decision (to come into India or expand) does not hinge on GST.”

The company plans to sell its phones across India by end of the year, and feels it will be able to crack into the top rankings banking on its portfolio created after eight months on research with Indian consumers, retail reach and after sales service with over 144 third party stores and its own services coming in after June.

“Partners (retailers and distributors) will be happy with our commissions as we intend to become a profit solution partner for them so that they can make more money with less headache,” he said when asked about giving more commissions to the channel to ensure higher sales in the light of Chinese players like Oppo and Vivo outspending other brands to acquire customers.

On the retail side, customers will be given an assured replacement on the full phone within 100 days of purchase and a onetime replacement of the screen.

Tecno is also offering 50% buyback to customers who upgrade to Tecno smartphones within a year of purchase, thus pushing the adoption of smartphones. This can prove to be an effective tool in the market which is set to have flat to marginal smartphone growth in 2017 on-year, as per analysts.

The company is also exploring tie-ups with telecom operators for bundled data offers. All phones, except one entry level model, will support finger print scanner and improved selfie technology with front and back LED flashes.

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After PSU banks, the government is likely to infuse capital in two chronically ill telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, and the Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on 4G spectrum allocation to them by the third week of the current month after DoT places the note before it for consideration.

At a high-level meeting at the PMO late Tuesday, it was also decided that the two telcos will frame a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to reduce their employee strength, which will be followed by a reduction in the retirement age to 58.